The Importance of a Good Network

The network is the backbone of a business. It connects sites together, powers collaboration between staff, partners and customers, and ensures people work productively. An underperforming network connection is the reverse – it frustrates, is unproductive and costs the business.

In the modern era, people can work remotely with confidence but only if the network supports their drive towards agility. Collaborative business applications only deliver business value if underlying connectivity has the performance capabilities to support solutions.

Furthermore, with new connected devices being added to the network each day, as well as an increase in cloud business applications, video conferencing and web-based meetings, investing in a network that performs flawlessly is more critical than ever before.

Organisations cannot afford to falter and the finance department lacks patience when assessing why network-dependent IT projects have failed to deliver without realising what the real culprit is. So what do you need?

High performance and reliability – regular downtime and intermittent connectivity issues damage a business’s competitiveness. Network issues are costly, both financially and in terms of productivity. If an employee struggles to connect to a service, they might miss out on a sales opportunity or an important meeting. A solid network enables people to focus on their business objectives, rather than grappling with technology.

Flexible and Scalable – A network must have the capacity to deal with high levels of traffic, but equally useful is a network that can be scaled up or down depending on application requirements. This approach delivers a more financially-aligned service while also ensuring that there is capacity when required during busier periods. Many organisations are adopting a hybrid approach to networking, combining on-premise and hybrid capacity to customise their networks for their needs.

A secure network – Security is a key concern, especially if sensitive company or customer data resides on servers. The trend of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) means there is an increased risk of security breaches from unsecured devices. Organisations should ensure they are proactively monitoring the network to prevent attacks, as well as for performance. This also helps minimise downtime and avoid critical issues by reacting before they escalate.

Essentially, a ‘good network’ should be reliable, scalable and provide the business with the connectivity it needs to function on a daily basis, and far into the future. Find out more about our network services here.